A Haunting
by Umi-no-Gensou
Summary: Mello and Matt decide to move in to a house during the Kira investigation, Mello really doesn't like it, but Matt can't see why at first. Until it gets worse that is. Title is pretty self-explanatory. Eventual Matt/Mello.
1. Prologue

_A/N: okay so this is my first real attempt at Death Note fanfiction (well that's not entirely true, it's just the first one I decided to post). I got a little excited when I finished the first bit and decided to post it in an attempt to keep me motivated to keep going. _

_What you need to know: This will most likely be a Matt/Mello fic, I just love them, and it will in fact have a plot- how good this plot is will be put to the test, but it will have one. It's sort of canon compliant, I mean it's set in that little time frame between New York and Takada's kidnapping...But I might have to hack that time frame to make it longer so the story will work, so it's supposed to work with canon, but I may get carried away. It happens. At any rate, I hope you enjoy my prologue, I'll be posting chapter 1 as soon as I can. _

_Sir Also Appearing In This Fic: Near, Halle, Rester, Gevanni...um...random other cannon folk, ones I have to think of._

_Disclaimer: I do not own "Death Note", if I did, Mello and Matt would not have died...and neither would L. I also don't own "A Haunting" which this sort of happens to share a name with..._

A Haunting

Matt flicks open his lighter for the cigarette between his lips.

"Don't you dare." Mello says from his place on the couch. His eyes are closed, but Matt supposes he hasn't waited long enough for him to be asleep. It seemed long enough though, maybe Mello has insomnia, he thinks.

"Oh come on, you're not gonna make me go outside are you?" Matt asks. He's way too lazy to go all the way downstairs just for a smoke.

"You're not smoking in here." Mello says firmly. Matt sighs, there's no point in arguing with the blonde- Mello always gets his way. But damn it, he needs a smoke! Time to try Plan B.

"How about if I open the window?" Matt asks. He turns away from the light of his laptop to the dark of the room behind him.

"No."

"How about if I lean out the window?" Matt asks.

"...Fine." Mello concedes. Matt supposes it is probably so that he will stop complaining and the blonde can sleep, but he'll take any small victory.

"Awesome." Matt says. He makes his way over to the window and opens it. He sits up on the sill with one leg, and leans out, finally getting to light the cigarette. The Japanese city below them is very quiet, Matt isn't surprised, considering the time. He and Mello have been working in shifts, Mello works all day and Matt works all night. Only they have yet to accomplish anything major. And Mello had been late getting home that day, as a result he wasn't going to be getting enough sleep, which meant Matt would suffer.

"Just remember: when you smoke in here, not only are you killing yourself- you're also killing me." Mello says. "And, you're killing me faster."

It's just like Mello to bring himself into it, but he has a point.

"Technically, I'm killing me twice as fast as you." Matt grumbles. "I'm getting first and second-hand smoke, you're just getting the second-hand." He takes a long drag of his cigarette.

"Whatever. Point is, you're killing us both. Try to think of me too, Matt." Mello says. But Matt can tell he's half-joking this time by the way his voice lifts on Matt's name.

"Don't need to worry about you, Mello, lack of sleep and all that chocolate are driving you to an early grave, I'm just trying to keep up." Matt jokes.

"Fuck off." Mello grumbles, digging himself further under the blankets and into the couch. The couch. Their current place is a shit-hole, it only has one bedroom (if it can be called that) and it is full of computers and all the things they can stuff in there. They don't have a bed anyway, so they sleep on the couch- another reason they sleep in shifts, the couch is not a pull-out couch, it will only fit one person. If he'd known that this was what he had to look forward to in Japan, Matt would have told Mello 'No way, Jose'...And then followed him anyway, but he wouldn't have been happy about it. Matt chuckles.

"Night Mells." Matt says, enjoying his (well-earned) cigarette.

"Night _Mattykins._" Mello retorts.

"Ever call me that again and I_ will_ stuff a lit cigarette up your ass." Matt says. He flicks at the cigarette to emphasize his point, even though Mello can't see it.

"Bet you'd like that." Mello says.

"Not as much as you would." Matt says, he'd been expecting Mello to say something like that and is rather proud of himself for his comeback. Mello chuckles and Matt feels himself grinning around his cigarette in response.

"Night Matt. Oh, do me a favour, huh, close the window when you're done and call that place tomorrow." Mello says. Matt can actually hear him stifling a yawn, though he can't really see him from the window. 'That place' happens to be a house. It was Matt's job to find them a better place, and he's found one, an actual house that is both affordable and in the right area. He found it listed online earlier that day, and tomorrow he will call the house, which means he will lose sleep, but if it makes Mello happy- or at least less of a bitch- then he will do it.

"That's two favours, Mel.-" He starts.

"Fuck, I'm tired." Mello cuts him off. It works both as an explanation for his mad math skills and as a way to let Matt know the conversation is done before Mello gets pissed.

"Okay. Will do. Good night Mells." Matt sighs.

"Mmph. Night."

_Okay, so it's a little short, but I wanted to post it as motivation and hopefully as a way to let people know how I will be writing the characters. I'll be trying to stay in-character, but I'm only human, luckily Matt gives me a lot of room for my own interpretation... Reviews are appreciated!_

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Day One

_A/N: Alright, so chapter one is officially up! I must have gone over it ten times before deciding it was good enough to post...  
>Just so you know, I'm experimenting with this magical 'present-tense' thing, so if my tenses are off or it isn't flowing, let me know, constructive criticism is always welcome. :) I wanted to have a line divide time skips and have a row of 'x's' dividing character perspective changes, but FF does not like my 'x' idea. So now there are just lines dividing everything. Also, there isn't a lot of division between Mello and Matt's POV's, it just kind of switches. What I'm <em>hoping _for is for it to be good enough that it just flows from one to the other and you can always tell, but let me know if it isn't working and I'll see if I can put in a divider or something. _

_Disclaimer: I still don't own Death Note, if I did, Takada would be a T-Rex and Near would Hulk-out when he was really angry._

_But anyways, special thanks to Pineapple (), GrasperGroupie and Melodramaticbox for their reviews and favourites/watch-listing, I really appreciate it :)_

_Read on and enjoy :)_

* * *

><p>Matt lets Mello sleep in until 12, and even though Mello complains- bitches, is a better word- Matt knows he is grateful for the extra sleep. By this time, Matt has called the prospective house and talked with the company currently trying to rent it out. There is no one living in it at the moment and the man renting the place out offered him a tour for the very next morning, Matt had accepted.<br>He doesn't want to leave the comfort of his games anymore than he has to, but he knows Mello has enough on his plate without this, so he's agreed to meet the man – Fujioka-san – at the house the next morning at 10. He makes sure to mention this to Mello before he takes over Mello's spot on the couch for his shift of sleep. Mello grumbles something similar to "thank you" and leaves the building before Matt has fallen asleep.

Matt wakes up when Mello comes back, a good 8 hours later. He's a little pissed that Mello has been gone that long, but in all fairness, Mello could have come and gone several times. Matt knows he sleeps like the dead and he guesses Mello probably hadn't meant to wake him up that time, or he hopes it was 'that' time and not the first time he's been home. He doesn't know why it bothers him so much that Mello may have been gone for so long, well he can think of a few reasons, but none are good enough to warrant the current annoyance. He decides to voice this annoyance.

"'The fuck have you been?" He asks, an arm across his eyes. Mello freezes, one hand on the computer.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Mello says. He's still for a moment before he spots Matt's frown. "And I just went to get more chocolate and cigarettes." He adds. Matt's frown is still there.

"Fuck, I just left 20 minutes ago, I was home for like, 4 hours before that." Mello says, getting annoyed as well. He has the feeling that he needs to explain himself, but he really doesn't want to. It isn't Matt's business anyway! Well, it is, but Mello doesn't feel like sharing. There is a moment of tense silence.

"I was just checking up on Mogi! He's still with Amane, so I came back. Hours ago!" Mello says loudly. Matt seems to be satisfied, even though Mello could have checked using his phone or even the computer, he knows Mello likes to get out more than he does. Matt rolls over and Mello plops himself down in front of the computer with an angry sigh.

* * *

><p>Mello is supposed to still be asleep, but he is in fact awake. Its 10:30, which means Matt will be touring- and probably buying- the house. Mello finds he really has nothing to do, so he's glad when Hal calls him.<p>

"Hal, what's up?" He says.

"Mello. I just thought I should inform you that we have moved our base to Japan." Hal says, straight to the point. She must not have much time. Mello already knows about this, or at least he has assumed that they would do so, so he wonders exactly why she would call just to tell him that. Then again, every bit of information counts.

"I see. I figured as much. I'm in Japan as well." He says. If Hal is surprised, it doesn't show in her voice.

"Where are you?" She asks, and Mello debates with himself for several seconds about whether or not to tell her. She's not a threat to him, he trusts her, and as much as he hates to admit, he can trust Near not to do anything that will jeopardize his fate. So he tells her the address where he and Matt will be moving to.

"Are you going to live there by yourself?" Hal asks. Mello thinks this is an odd question, but he wouldn't put it past Hal to figure out that a house would be a bit much even for someone like Mello- who had too much to do to bother with a large place.

"No. With Matt." He says. He's being deliberately vague on that aspect because he knows it will annoy her.

"Who's Matt?" She asks, an edge to her voice.

"Ask Near." Mello says. He doesn't really care if Near knows about Matt's involvement, in fact he's pretty sure that Near told Matt where to find him, and if he didn't, Near probably knows anyway.

"Thanks for the update Hal, keep me posted." Mello hangs up without saying good-bye.

* * *

><p>When Near asks who she was on the phone with during her brief break, Hal knows it's no good lying to him, not that it would help her or Mello anyway. So she tells him, and he wants to know if Mello knows they are in Japan, so she says yes, and she tells him that Mello is in Japan too.<br>Hal knows she should be suspicious when Near seems interested- no, that's not quite the right word...less uninterested is better, yes, less uninterested when she tells him that Mello is staying in Japan with Matt. She manages to get him to tell her who Matt is in exchange for their address, she is a double-agent after all, and she has no reason to believe Near has any ill will towards Mello. She's pretty sure it's one-sided in that aspect. Hal decides to watch Near and see what he does with the information, although that's exceptionally hard to do when she is probably going to be leaving soon, she's sure she'll end as Kiyomi Takada's bodyguard. Still, she happens to be there when Near asks Rester to do a background check on the house, and the area around it too. She's not clear on his motivation, but that doesn't stop her from making sure she's within range of the results.

"I went back about 10 years in records." Rester tells Near.

"And what did you find?" Near asks. He is currently making a new T-Rex toy do something that looks suspiciously like broadcasting news while the Kira figure is just to the side of it. Hal has a sneaking suspicion that the T-Rex is supposed to be Takada and she almost snickers.

"A lot of disappearances. And three murders, or at least unexplained deaths." Rester says. His voice is as serious as ever, but he seems to have noticed the T-Rex broadcasting news as well.

"How many disappearances?" Near asks.

"Every family who has lived there has had at least one person go missing. In total, about 23 people." Rester says.

"I see. And what do you think that means?" Near asks. The T-Rex has abandoned its news station and is terrorizing the innocent toys around Near. Gevanni is watching and listening now too, his head cocked to one side and his hands stilled on the keyboard.

"Well, I suppose it means that it's a bad area." Rester says hesitantly. Near 'hmms' in response as the Takada-Rex tramples Godzilla. "Or maybe the house is...cursed?" Rester adds this for the benefit of Hal and Gevanni, it's almost a joke.

"It could be. We should find out for ourselves." Near says. Hal can tell by the look on Rester's face that that was not quite what he'd intended.

"Do some more research on the area and if you can come up with nothing then I have an idea as to how we can find out." Near says. He is now waving the T-Rex around as if it is flying, and Hal allows herself to smile a little.

* * *

><p>"What do you think?" Matt asks. He motions around himself, trying to indicate the entire house, even though they can't see much other than the stairs, entry hall and a small part of the living room, plus the landing where they are. He glances towards Mello, apprehensive of his friend's response. Mello looks oddly uncomfortable. He supposes there aren't many people who would notice this, but he's known Mello long enough, he can pick up the slight changes in expression.<p>

"It's...well, I haven't even seen half of it yet. Just the outside, all I can say about that is it's big." Mello says. He crosses his arms over his chest defensively. A carefully neutral answer, Matt notices, and is Mello cold or something?

"You're right about that, come on- you still have to pick your room." Matt says. Mello nods slightly before bending down to take off his boots, from where Matt's standing it's a nice view. Wait. He didn't just think that...He needs to get laid, man. Soon. Matt shakes his head and leans down to pull off his own boots. The landing is actually small enough that he has to turn a little so they both have room.

"Do you want a tour first? Or do you wanna pick your room first?" Matt asks. Mello's eyes flicker up to the small window of one of the rooms upstairs, then back to Matt.

"Room first." He says.

"Kay." Matt says. He starts up the stairs with Mello in tow. "The house is in pretty good shape, which is good because apparently it's seen a lot of owners." Matt explains. The house has an oddly muffled feel to it, like being in something sound insulated, you wanted to talk to break the silence, but there was the feeling that you somehow wouldn't be heard. Matt doesn't remember it feeling quite so oppressive when he was touring the house with Fujioka-san, but he chalks it up to his apprehension about Mello's opinion, even though it's as good as theirs- is theirs- he wants Mello to approve.

Matt leads him to the first, and second-largest, room on their right. Mello stalks around the room, his eyes going over everything as he sizes it up. They rest on the closet for a moment, and Matt takes it as his cue to open the closet and show Mello how much room there is. He slides open the door easily and motions to the shelf dividing the closet.

"Perfect for your laptop." Matt says. He's trying to sell the room to Mello, and Mello must think that's a little funny because he smiles just a little.

"Not so great for hanging my leathers." Mello says. There is, of course, plenty of room for the leathers, well unless Mello decides to buy a floor-length leather dress...which Matt doesn't think is likely to happen...which he doesn't mind, of course... But he knows Mello is just giving him a hard time, because Mello likes to do that. He shuts the closet door and motions to the window instead.

"Great view." He points out.

"Of a back alley." Mello says. Ah, so this is what they're playing. Matt is now sure that Mello will come up with something negative to say for everything he points out.

"It's not an alley, it's a street. And you'd be able to see anyone coming, not to mention the sunset."

"Hmm." Mello says. "I'd also get a great view of the garbage trucks."

Matt sighs but smiles, he actually enjoys these little games.

"You're closer to the bathroom, so you'd get first dibs." Matt says.

"I get first dibs anyway." Mello says, one eyebrow raised. This is true, Matt thinks.

"Ah, but you are also closer to the stairs, which is very convenient." Matt says. Mello doesn't answer for a minute, and when he does, all he says is:

"I suppose that's an advantage if I don't fall down them in the middle of the night."

Matt smiles and counts one point for himself. Mello is standing by the door now, giving him a look that says 'stop gloating and show me the other rooms', so Matt can only oblige.

The next room is smaller, it looks like it would be a good room for a child though it is by no means cramped. Matt actually considered it for a while when he was touring the house with Fujioka-san. Maybe it's the easy atmosphere of the room, although Matt's not sure why it should feel all that different than the other rooms. Mello walks around this room only once, seeming to decide it is too small for him. So Matt decides to sell him this one too.

"It's cosy isn't it?" He begins.

"It's small." Mello says, a smile playing around his lips.

"It's cosy." Matt says. "I think the closet has more space." He opens the closet, it's smaller in width, but there is no shelf dividing it into two. Mello scoffs.

"Okay, I guess it doesn't. But, it's better for your leathers." Matt teases. Mello doesn't say anything to this, just presses his lips together so he won't smile. Matt wishes he would.

"The view is better. No garbage trucks." Matt motions to the window.

"Oh, it's great...For spying on the neighbours." Mello says.

"You probably will anyway." Matt says.

"Only if they're suspicious. At least I'm not the one running background checks on them."

"No, but you told me to."

"I did not."

"Alright, maybe not. But you agreed to it."

Mello is smiling now, a little, but it is a smile, and his hands are on his hips now, instead of wrapped across his chest. But that's all there is to this room, so Matt leads Mello down to the last, and largest, room, farthest from the stairs and almost isolated at the back of the house. Matt waits until Mello has surveyed it carefully before he speaks.

"I already claimed this one." He says.

"Bastard." Mello says. "How's that fair, huh? I didn't even get to see it."

He shrugs in response to Mello, as if to say 'that's how it is, blondie'. He supposes it isn't fair, but if their positions were reversed, he knows Mello would do the same. Matt sighs, he knows if Mello asks, he'll give it to him, and he knows Mello knows this, so he's pretty much expecting it. So it comes as a surprise when Mello says nothing of the sort. Maybe Mello's feeling a little off, Matt thinks, after all, his arms are crossed tightly again. He makes a mental note to get the blonde some chocolate.

"I guess I'll take the first one." Mello says.

"Don't want to spy on the neighbours?" Matt asks playfully.

"That will depend on what your background check pulls up." Mello shoots back. "Now show me the rest of the house."

"Yes, your majesty." Matt says with a mock bow as Mello sweeps past him.

The house itself is actually rather large considering its price range. It has a bit of traditional Japanese aspects, but also some western in it, to cater to gaijin like them, Matt supposes, after all, this area is fairly popular for westerners. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, one and a half bathrooms, and a finished basement, quite the deal. Matt had been sure to ask what the catch was. Fujioka-san had replied that there was no catch, the house just couldn't keep its owners- he supposed it was the busy area- and offered Matt a drink from a bottle of sake that he had apparently kept in the house. Actually, come to think of it, maybe Fujioka had only said that part _after_ the sake...Matt couldn't remember.

But they are standing in the living room now, having toured the house, and Matt is tempted to offer Mello his vest because he looks cold, he's been holding himself since the last bedroom, and it was rather chilly in the basement...But Mello would refuse it anyway. Matt is going ask Mello what he thinks now that he has seen the entire house, even though he knows Mello will say they should take it, seeing as Mello has already picked a room, and that is like saying you will take the house, which they have already done, Matt reminds himself, but his words die on his lips. Because he decides that Mello looks out of place somehow. Which is odd, because this is supposed to be their home... but Mello doesn't fit in - sticks out as bad as if he were dressed in his leather in Near's stark white room or in a pink room decorated in 'My Little Pony' and 'I Love Near' posters. It's odd, Matt can't understand why and this annoys him a little.

"What?" Mello asks, and Matt supposes he's been staring. He clears his throat.

"What do you think?" He asks.

"It's big. It's in good condition. It's in an ideal location. It's already ours." Mello says. Matt likes the way Mello says 'ours' and he almost misses the fact that Mello has actually avoided the question, but he isn't third best for nothing.

"So? What do _you _think?" He presses.

"It's... I suppose I can... I like it." Mello says, after stopping and starting like he's considering his response carefully.

"No, you don't." Matt accuses him.

"Well, Matt, we've never had such a big place to ourselves, it'll just take some getting used to. Really, I'm more opposed to the idea of it than I am to the house itself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. I guess I don't like having so much space, or maybe I don't like the fact that we probably can't stay here for as long as I'd like." Mello says. Matt wants to ask more, but Mello has put on his sunglasses, which means the conversation is over and they should leave.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for reading, reviews are welcome :)<em>

_P.S- The Takada T-Rex is something my brother and I came up with. If anyone wants to know the story of the Takada-Rex, let me know and I'll put a note in the next chapter! :P_


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